Abstract: A washing machine includes a vibration damping device located in an outer casing for damping vibration of a tub using a cylinder enclosing an operating fluid including a functional fluid such as a magnetic viscous fluid changing a viscosity when an electrical energy is applied to the fluid. The vibration damping device includes the cylinder, a shaft inserted into the cylinder, a coil disposed in the cylinder, two yokes disposed between the cylinder and the shaft so as to be located at both axial sides of the coil respectively, the yokes forming a magnetic circuit together with the shaft and cylinder, a sealing member disposed axially outside one of the yokes in the cylinder to seal the operating fluid, and two bearings located axially outside the respective yokes in the cylinder to support the shaft so that the shaft is axially reciprocable.

Abstract: A permanent magnet motor includes a rotor including a rotor core formed with magnet insertion holes and permanent magnets inserted into the insertion holes. The rotor core includes a plurality of pairs of divided cores. The divided cores of each pair are adjacent to each other, and one divided core of each pair has two ends formed with respective engagement convexities and the other divided core has two ends formed with respective engagement concavities. The permanent magnets included permanent magnets having a lower coercive force and permanent magnets having a higher coercive force. A number of the permanent magnets having the lower coercive force and a number of the permanent magnets having the higher coercive force for each of the divided cores are the same as the other divided cores such that the divided cores have an equal total flux such that the divided cores have an equal total flux.

Abstract: A damper includes a bobbin which is housed in a cylinder and on which a coil is wound and yokes housed in the cylinder. At least one of the yokes is disposed at a first axial side of the bobbin, and at least one other of the yokes is disposed at a second axial side of the bobbin. A magnetic viscous fluid is retained on inner surfaces of the yokes and an inner surface of the bobbin. Sealing members are configured to prevent leakage of the magnetic viscous fluid. A shaft extends through the yokes, the bobbin and the sealing members and is configured to be axially reciprocable relative to the yokes, the bobbin and the sealing members such that reciprocation of the shaft does not substantially displace the magnetic viscous fluid. The coil, the bobbin and the yokes are fixed together by a resin.

Abstract: A damper obtaining damping force by the frictional resistance imparted by the viscosity of the magnetic viscous fluid is disclosed. The damper is provided with a seal not only on one (lower side) of the axial outer sides of the yoke but also on the other (upper side) of the axial outer sides of the yoke to trap the magnetic viscous fluid within the magnetic viscous fluid filling portion at both axial outer sides of magnetic viscous fluid filling portion. Because the leakage of the magnetic viscous fluid can be prevented, no air is introduced into the magnetic viscous fluid filling portion, to allow the density of the magnetic viscous fluid within magnetic viscous fluid filling portion to be maintained at a favorable level and prevent degradation of damping force.

Abstract: A washing machine includes a water tub, an electric motor, and a control device. The motor comprises a stator including a stator coil, a rotor magnet arranged circumferentially with respect to the rotor, and a control device. The rotor magnet includes a permanent magnet. When the control device applies a first voltage to the stator coil in a wash step of the washing operation, the rotor magnet is magnetized so that a magnetic flux of the rotor magnet acting on the stator is increased without reversal of a direction of magnetization. When the control device applies a second voltage to the stator soil in a dehydration step of the washing operation, the rotor magnet is magnetized so that a magnetic flux of the rotor magnet acting on the stator is reduced without reversal of a direction of magnetization as compared with the magnetic flux in the wash step.

Abstract: An inverter device provided on a washing machine for controlling a permanent magnet motor being provided with a rotor magnet including a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet having a level of coercivity smaller than the first permanent magnet. An excitation current is produced to vary the amount of magnetism of the second permanent magnet to execute a dehydrate operation with a magnetic flux of the rotor magnet reduced and to execute an operation being specified to operate at a lower maximum rotation count compared to the dehydrate operation with the magnetic flux of the rotor magnet increased. When the amount of magnetism of the second permanent magnet is varied while rotation of the permanent magnet motor is stopped, a phase of the excitation current for varying the amount of magnetism is switched depending on a rotation stop position of the rotor.

Abstract: A communication terminal receives a request packet of a composite telegraphic message form from a request terminal and transmits a response packet. The communication terminal includes a reception unit, a request processing unit, and a transmission unit. The reception unit is configured to receive a request packet including a packet identifier for identifying a packet, a service type, and a plurality of property information pieces regarding requests. The request processing unit is configured to generate a response packet including only property information of a response corresponding to a request processed according to the service type among the plurality of property information pieces regarding the requests, and the packet identifier. The transmission unit is configured to transmit the response packet to the request terminal.

Abstract: The present invention provides an electric vacuum cleaner which can reliably absorb vibration accompanying driving of an electric blowing part. An electric blowing part 11 which is driven to generate a negative pressure is housed in a main body case 5. An energizing means 29 which energizes the electric blowing part 11 from the front side toward the center of gravity G of the electric blowing part 11 in a side view, and an energizing means 30 which energizes the electric blowing part 11 from the rear side, are provided on the main body case 5. Vibration accompanying driving of the electric blowing part 11 can be reliably absorbed by energizing of springs of the energizing means 29 and 30, and vibration can be isolated from the main body case 5.

Abstract: A washer dryer including a DC power supply generator that generates a DC power supply from an AC power supply; a heat pump that circulates refrigerant between a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator; an air circulatory path that circulates air between the condenser and the evaporator; a first inverter circuit that receives the DC power supply to drive a compressor motor; a rotary tub disposed rotatably within an exterior tub; a rotary tub motor that directly drives the rotary tub at least during dehydration; a second inverter circuit that receives the DC power supply having an output terminal connected to windings of the rotary tub motor; a voltage detector that detects DC voltage occurring between the second inverter circuit and a power supply bus; a brake controller that controls the DC voltage within a predetermined range by controlling a regenerative electric power when braking is applied.

Abstract: A damper which uses a magnetic viscous fluid, includes a cylinder, a bobbin which is housed in the cylinder and on which a coil generating a magnetic field is wound, a yoke which is housed in the cylinder and provided on an end of the bobbin, and a shaft which is inserted into the cylinder so as to extend through the bobbin and the yoke and so as to be axially reciprocable relative to the bobbin and the yoke. The magnetic viscous fluid fills a space defined between the bobbin and the yoke in the cylinder. The coil, the bobbin and the yoke are fixed together by a resin.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes an generating section that generates authentication operation data from an input type associated with the type of the appliance in appliance data and stores the authentication operation data in a storage device, an transmitting section that transmits the authentication operation data to a gateway apparatus, an acquiring section that receives, from the gateway apparatus, input operation data input from an input device of an appliance and stores the input operation data in the storage device, and an collating section that compares the authentication operation data and the input operation data, determines whether the authentication operation data and the input operation data coincide with each other, and outputs collation result data. If the coincidence is determined, the information processing apparatus causes the gateway apparatus to authenticate communication for controlling the appliance between the appliance and the gateway apparatus.

Abstract: In a control server, a storing section accumulates request data received from a terminal and used for remotely operating, via a control apparatus, a home electric appliance provided in a home. A generating section generates schedule data on the basis of at least one of the request data and the inquiry. The schedule data is data concerning a frequency of an inquiry about the request data by the control apparatus and data transmitted to the control apparatus. A transmitting section transmits the request data stored in the storing section to the control apparatus in response to the inquiry transmitted from the control apparatus at a frequency indicated by the schedule data.

Abstract: A drum type washing machine having a suspension supporting a water tub in a vibration isolated manner and including a cylinder, a magnetic field generator fixed in the cylinder, a pair of magnetic members located at both axial sides of the field generator respectively, a smart fluid including a magneto-rheological fluid retained on an inner surface of the generator, a sealing member which is fixed in the cylinder so as to be located below the generator to prevent leakage of the smart fluid so that the smart fluid is retained, and a shaft which is supported so as to be axially reciprocable relatively along the generator, magnetic members, smart fluid, and sealing member such that reciprocation of the shaft does not substantially displace the smart fluid. The generator generates a magnetic circuit including the cylinder and the shaft.

Abstract: A washing machine includes an outer casing, a tub mounted in the outer casing, a rotating tub rotatably mounted in the tub and a vibration damping device located in the outer casing for damping vibration of the tub using a cylinder enclosing an operating fluid. The operating fluid includes a functional fluid. The washing machine further includes a control unit which is configured to control a viscosity of the functional fluid. The control unit is configured to change the viscosity of the functional fluid according to rotation of the rotating tub in a dehydration step to vary a damping force of the vibration damping device.

Abstract: A motor controller including a vector controller that controls a permanent magnet motor including a rotor being provided with a permanent magnet having a coercivity low enough to allow modification in amount of magnetization and that executes a vector control by detecting current flowing at the permanent magnet motor; a speed/position detector that detects a rotational speed and a rotational position of the permanent magnet motor; a magnetization controller that increases or decreases the magnetization of the permanent magnet depending on the rotational position of the permanent magnet motor through adjustment in status of the magnetization of the permanent magnet by way of armature counteraction; and a demagnetization detector that detects a decrease in the magnetization of the permanent magnet magnetized by the magnetization controller during operation of the permanent magnet motor.

Abstract: Disclosed is a washing machine comprising a permanent magnet motor that includes a rotor and that drives rotation for execution of a wash operation; a permanent magnet that is provided on the rotor side and that has a level of coercivity allowing variation in an amount of magnetism with ease, and a magnetism controller that produces an excitation current to vary the amount of magnetism of the permanent magnet; wherein the magnetism controller, when interrupting or stopping an ongoing operation, interrupts or stops the ongoing operation after magnetizing the permanent magnet.

Abstract: A permanent magnet motor includes a rotor including a rotor core formed with circumferentially arranged magnet insertion holes and permanent magnets inserted into the respective magnet insertion holes, the magnets establishing in the magnet insertion holes magnetic poles corresponding to magnetic pole teeth of a stator. The magnets include a plurality of types of permanent magnets having different coercive forces and are inserted into the insertion holes respectively so that each pole corresponds to one of the types of magnets. The rotor core has a part located between the magnets adjacent to each other and having different coercive forces. The rotor core has a magnetic flux path defined in the part so as to protrude to the stator side. The magnetic sensor is configured to be relatively moved along a trajectory corresponding to the magnets and the flux path with rotation of the rotor.

Abstract: A drum-type washer/dryer having an evaporator for performing dehumidification by cooling air drawn from the inner space of a drum and also having condenser for heating the air dehumidified by the evaporator, wherein the air heated by the condenser is made to sequentially pass through a duct and a blowhole and blown as dry air to clothes in the drum. A backflow preventing portion is provided in the duct, and when bubbles flow back into the duct from the inner space of the drum through the blowhole, the backflow preventing portion functions as resistance for preventing the back flow of the bubbles.

Abstract: A virtually lead additive-free but highly reliable and practical anode zinc can for a battery with improved process-ability and corrosion resistance. A manganese dry battery comprising such a zinc can. A manufacturing method for making the zinc can and a battery.

Abstract: A suspension for a drum type washing machine includes a cylinder, a magnetic field generator fixed in the cylinder and generating a magnetic field in a variable manner, a pair of magnetic members located at both axial sides of the generator respectively, a shaft supported so as to be axially reciprocable relatively between the generator and the magnetic member and so as to extend through the generator and the magnetic member, a smart fluid including a magneto-rheological fluid filling a first space defined between the shaft and the magnetic field generator and a second space defined between the shaft and the magnetic members and located near the first space, and a sealing member which is fixed in the cylinder so as to be located below the generator and is in close contact with a periphery of the shaft thereby to prevent leak of the smart fluid.